by Burton, Mary
She wanted to sit up and reach for the controls on the side of the bed. Elijah brushed her fingers away and pressed the button until she signaled for him to stop.
“I was taking a walk,” Elijah said. “The doctor said I would heal faster if I moved.”
“Where did you walk?”
“Around. And I have no witnesses to prove or disprove that statement. Am I still the go-to suspect in this town?”
“No, the cops are totally focused on Clarke now.”
Elijah nodded, looking only mildly surprised. “Good. It will be nice to have the fires solved and maybe get my name cleared.” He studied her an extra moment. “Why did Clarke come after you?”
“He said I was trying to take Ann away.”
“Ann’s rooted in this state. She’s not going anywhere.”
“You might be sure of that, but Clarke wasn’t.” Mention of Ann shifted her perspective. “Ann and Nate must be devastated. I should call her.” She looked around her bed. “Do you know where my cell phone is?”
Elijah pushed her hand away. “I’ll find Ann. You stay put.”
“I don’t know if you should be the one, Elijah.”
“Why not?” He watched her closely.
“She’s Gideon’s sister. He’ll take care of it.”
“Ah, right. Gideon.”
“You don’t care for him much, do you?”
“On the contrary: I respect him quite a bit. He’s the man of the hour.” He stepped back. “He saved your life, Detective.”
“I do owe him.”
He smiled, turned, and picked up his book. “We all do. Take care, and let me know if I can help,” he said as he walked into the hallway.
“You don’t appear to be surprised by Clarke. Did you know about him all along?”
He stilled. “I had no proof, and if prison taught me anything, it’s to keep my mouth shut.”
“Lana loved you, or at least she thought she did. And yet she ended up with Clarke.”
“I never had any control over Lana. She made her own choices.”
“I don’t think so.” Joan moistened her cracked, dried lips. “I think she loved you so much that she was willing to sleep with Clarke to get you the proof you wanted about the fire.”
“That’s an ambitious plan.”
“How did you come to suspect Clarke?”
“Joan, you have been severely traumatized. And it’s easy to see Clarke as the ultimate bad guy.”
“He took ten years of your life.”
“I’ve had ten years of living, just like you and everyone else. I consider my years behind bars to have been very productive. They taught me so much.”
She realized now that Elijah was a master chess player. His mind always advanced to at least five moves ahead. “That’s not an answer.”
He pushed back the curtain. “I think I hear Prince Charming right now.”
As he moved to leave, she tried to rise up. This was far from finished. But when Gideon appeared in the door, she was overcome with relief and emotion.
Gideon’s frown deepened when he looked at Elijah. “What are you doing here?”
Elijah nodded to him. “I was just visiting with Joan.”
“As soon as I get this sorted out, I want to talk to you,” Gideon said.
“I’ll be here,” Elijah said easily as he offered a small salute and left.
Gideon stood in the doorway watching until finally he pulled up a chair beside her. “That guy is everywhere. I still don’t trust him.”
She didn’t, either. In her bones, she sensed that Elijah had a plan that was far from played out. She tried to sit up as Gideon approached, but her broken ribs forced her to remain still. “You might be right.”
A ghost of a smile tipped the edges of his lips as he sat beside her bed. He brushed her bangs back, staring at her. “You take too many chances.”
She would have leaned over and kissed him if not for the cracked ribs. “I would literally be toast now if not for you.”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there faster.”
“The fire ladder was a nice touch.”
He tipped his head back, his eyes darkening with the fear of what could have happened. “I’m so sorry. I should have seen this coming.”
“No one figured it out.”
“You did.”
“You can pay me back.”
His brow arched. “How?”
“Kiss me. I’d do it myself, but the ribs aren’t having it.” When he hesitated, she added, “Please tell me I haven’t misread the sexual tension.”
He cleared his throat as he rose and leaned toward her. “You haven’t.” He gently kissed her on the lips, and she raised her hand to his arm.
“I still love you,” she whispered. “I always have.”
He drew back, searching her gaze. “I thought I could get over you, but I never did.”
Her chest tightened as she thought about all the years she had tried to convince herself they were done. There were times she could almost believe she had moved on, but then something would trigger an old memory, and then she was right back to missing him.
She gripped his arm. “You don’t have to try anymore.”
He grinned. “Good. I’m tired of running away from the one person I’ve always wanted the most.”
EPILOGUE
Missoula, Montana
Saturday, October 31, 2020
6:15 p.m.
In the end, it had been easy to quit the Philadelphia Police Department. Joan had flown back east and met with her boss and learned she would have desk duty indefinitely. Her boss was not going to fire her but had presented an option he knew she would never accept. She had politely shaken his hand and quit.
It had taken a couple of weeks to pack up, to give away what she did not want, and to find someone to sublet her apartment. Finally, she had hugged Ray, who’d stood on the sidewalk waving as she drove off in a car packed with the few possessions she cared about.
Now, as she pulled into Missoula, she knew by the darkening sky that she had barely beaten the weather. Within hours, snow would be blanketing everything and announcing winter was here to stay. There was no turning back now.
She drove down the familiar road to the Bailey ranch. The sun had all but set, and whatever light remained was blocked by the thick, dark clouds.
She pulled up in front of Ann’s house, shut off the engine, and silenced a moment of doubt. She had not given up a life to be here.
Out of the car, the first small flakes began to fall. She hugged her coat around her and dashed to the front door, where Ann was waiting. It was Halloween, and the house was decorated with all the fixings.
“I hope there’s a party here,” Joan said.
Ann wrapped her arms around Joan. “You made it!”
“The last two days were killer.”
“I told you not to rush,” Ann said.
“Couldn’t help it.”
Gideon’s deep voice mingled with Kyle’s and Nate’s. The three were watching a football game.
“He’s missed you,” Ann whispered, looking over her shoulder with a grin. “We all have missed you.”
“How are you doing?”
Ann smiled. “One foot in front of the other. Nate is hurting, but Gideon is helping.”
Joan shrugged off her coat and lowered her voice. “What about Elijah?”
Ann’s demeanor grew more guarded as she took the coat and hung it up. “He’s still my best student.”
“That’s not what I mean.”
“He’s been nothing but the perfect student. I have no complaints.”
He was patient and good at playing the long game. The problem was, no one knew his real goal. “He hasn’t tried to make contact with Nate?”
“No.”
“Good.” How long would it be before Elijah realized the truth about Nate? And what would he do?
Joan and Gideon had spoken on the phone almost daily over the last seven weeks. He had update
d her whenever he could on the investigation into Clarke’s fires. Cell phone data had placed Clarke in Helena at the time of the warehouse fire, and when the insurance company had insisted on another investigation, its report had unearthed traces of incendiary devices like the ones Clarke had used. Bryce had arrested Pollock for arson just last week.
The DNA of Lana’s baby indeed matched Clarke’s. The two had been having an affair, but as much as Gideon pressed, Elijah insisted that she had acted alone. Gideon theorized that Lana had set out to seduce Clarke so that she could get insight into the origin of the College Fire. Somewhere along the way, Clarke must have won her over with an engagement ring he had taken or borrowed from Jessica Halpern.
Jessica’s cell phone texts revealed that she had been in direct contact with Clarke for eight months. Motel records suggested the two had been having an affair for at least six months.
The cops had found Clarke’s DNA in the form of hair fibers on Dan’s body. They had theorized that Clarke had broken into Dan’s home and killed him. Cell phone records confirmed that the two had traded several phone calls on the day Elijah had been attacked. Whether Clarke had helped rough up Elijah was not confirmed, but it appeared that Dan could have become another loose end to Clarke.
Beyond the regular updates, Gideon had given Joan some space while she was in Philadelphia. He had not told her he loved her and had not pressed her to return to Montana. But after three days back east in her apartment, she had realized her place was out west with him. When she’d floated the idea, Gideon was thrilled.
“Come on into the den,” Ann said. “We knew the snow was coming, so we decided to keep the party here. Gideon will be relieved to see you. He was worried about you in the weather.”
They had spoken two hours ago, but excitement rushed through her as she thought about seeing him.
“Look who I found,” Ann said.
Gideon was sitting in the center of the couch, a boy on each side, as they watched the college game. All three turned around at the sound of Ann’s voice, and the boys hopped up immediately.
Gideon rose quickly, but he smoothed his hands down his thighs, as if he might be nervous. He leaned in and kissed her on the lips. “Right on time.”
The boys spoke to Joan almost too fast for her to take it all in, but she loved their enthusiasm.
“All right, you two,” Ann said. “Help me get the table set for dinner.”
The boys and Ann rushed out of the room, leaving Joan and Gideon to themselves.
She slid her hands in her pockets, then decided that made her look too on edge. “Long time no see. Sorry it took me so long.”
Gideon took her hands in his. “Doesn’t matter. You finally made it.”
She stepped toward him, and when he embraced her, Joan felt a sense of belonging she had not felt in a long time, and, in ways she could not articulate, she knew she was home.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © 2015 Studio FBJ
New York Times and USA Today bestselling novelist Mary Burton is the popular author of thirty-five romance and suspense novels, as well as short stories and five novellas. She currently lives in Virginia with her husband and three miniature dachshunds. Visit her at www.maryburton.com.
